The Benidorm City Council’s Parks and Gardens Department has started a treatment program to remove the pine processionary caterpillar. The phytosanitary treatment will last two months and will affect 4,000 pine trees in the municipality, with a special emphasis on schools and urban parks.
The intervention entails the injection of phytosanitary agents authorised by the Regional Ministry directly into the tree to prevent infection by this insect. The substance kills the processionary caterpillar, stopping it from feeding on the leaves and often causing the pine to weaken or die.
School and park
The workers carrying out this action have a valid Phytosanitary Product Handler course, and their scope of action focusses on “pine trees in schools, garden areas of the city, the urban park of El Moralet, L’Aigüera, and, in general, all areas of Benidorm where there are pine trees that may be affected by this pest,” according to Councillor for Parks and Gardens José Ramón González de Zárate.
This action also targets Séquia Mare Park and the surrounding area of the A-7, where a fire broke out last year and impacted pine trees will be removed.
The department will also treat trees infested with tomicus, a beetle that bores into pines and causes considerable damage.
Stingy hairs
The City Council has stated that there has been no “significant increase” in the prevalence of the processionary caterpillar, and that if an outbreak develops, prompt action is taken to prevent its spread.
The pine processionary caterpillar causes harm to pine trees and has a detrimental impact on human and animal health due to its stinging hairs, which can induce severe allergic reactions.
Following hatching, the caterpillars defoliate trees, weakening them. They then form lengthy lines or “processions” to descend and bury themselves in preparation for metamorphosis. The hairs they shed are extremely thin and adhere to the skin or mucous membranes, releasing a toxin that causes itching, redness, severe tongue inflammation in pets, and even respiratory difficulties in people.
Author: Derek Appleton
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